According to officials in the defense ministry, a senior Turkish military officer who holds the rank of brigadier general has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling people across the Syrian border.
The sources verified stories that surfaced this week in the Turkish media about a brigadier general overseeing regional operations in Syria using his government vehicle to covertly pass individuals through checkpoints while making thousands of dollars.
Whether he was in the automobile at all at the time was unclear.
Sources from the defense ministry confirmed his detention, although they did not specify when or where it happened.
According to the reports, he was taken into custody in Ankara on the prosecutor’s order from the Sanliurfa province’s Akcakale district, which is close to the Syrian border.
The sources verified that an inquiry had been initiated, and the officer was compelled to step down soon after.
According to the sources, “administrative and judicial processes are under way,” meaning that lawbreakers in the army, regardless of rank, will face consequences.
In order to drive the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) out of northern Syria, where its proxies currently have control of two sizable border strips, Turkiye has conducted a series of ground operations since 2016.
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